Statistical Snippets from Our Survey of Churches

By Kent E. Fillinger

AVERAGE SIZE
Megachurches: 4,898.
Emerging Megachurches: 1,358.
Combined average weekly attendance: 375,324.

 

GROWTH RATES
Megachurches: 3.4 percent (up from 1.3 percent in 2015); overall, 61 percent of megachurches grew (up from 54 percent in 2015).

Emerging Megachurches: 2 percent (the same as 2015); overall, 61 percent of emerging megachurches grew (up from 57 percent in 2015).

Large churches: 4.3 percent (up from 4.1 percent in 2015); overall, 69 percent of large churches grew last year.

Medium churches: 2.1 percent (down from 3.3 percent in 2015); overall, 62 percent of medium churches grew last year.

 

FASTEST-GROWING CHURCHES
New City Church, Phoenix, AZ, 23.2 percent

Eastside Christian Church, Anaheim, CA, 23.1 percent

2|42 Community Church, Brighton, MI, 19.3 percent

Northeast Christian Church, Louisville, KY, 19.3 percent

 

BAPTISMS
Megachurches baptized 20,763 people (an average of 378 baptisms per megachurch).

Emerging megachurches baptized 7,141 people (an average of 90 per church).

Large churches baptized 3,922 people (an average of 42 per church).

Medium churches baptized 1,793 people (an average of 21 per church).

 

BAPTISM RATIOS (Number of baptisms per 100 people in average attendance)
Megachurches: 7.4.

Emerging megachurches: 6.6

Large churches: 5.9

Medium churches: 6.0

 

HIGHEST BAPTISM RATIO PER 100
Maryland Community Church, Terre Haute, IN, 15.1

Community Christian Church, Hemet, CA, 14.5

Eastside Christian Church, Jeffersonville, KY, 13.6

 

GIVING: Average weekly per-person giving (based on general fund only):
Megachurches: $29.46

Emerging Megachurches: $28.81

Large Churches: $29.22

Medium Churches: $28.78

 

OUTREACH GIVING
Percentage of total budget spent on ministry “outside the walls”:

Megachurches and Emerging Megachurches: 12.9 percent

Large and Medium Churches: 14.4 percent

 

DEBT
Megachurches: $9.27 million, on average. (This equates to $1,894 of debt per person, based on average attendance figures.)

Emerging Megachurches: $4.0 million. (This equals $2,952 of debt per person, based on average attendance figures.)

 

DEBT-FREE
Megachurches: 11 percent

Emerging Megachurches: 13 percent

 

FUN FACTS
The Largest Single-Site Megachurch: Crossroads Christian Church, Grand Prairie, TX (average attendance of 7,077).

The “Smallest” Megachurch with the Most Multisite Campuses: RiverTree Christian Church, Massillon, OH (average attendance of 2,800 in 7 locations)

No Church Bells Rang on Christmas Day: 33 percent of megachurches and 24 percent of emerging megachurches had no services on Christmas Day (a Sunday) in 2016. Some churches offered an “online only” option for people.

Easter Still Beats Christmas Eve: Megachurches averaged 9,688 in attendance for Easter services compared with 8,770 for Christmas Eve services. Emerging Megachurches averaged 2,278 for Easter compared with 1,883 for Christmas Eve.

A Leadership Pipeline: 44 percent of megachurches and 39 percent of emerging megachurches offer a formal residency or internship program to train and develop new leaders.

Online Church: 47 percent of megachurches and 19 percent of emerging megachurches have an Internet Campus.